The report “Concentration of Power and Weakening of the Rule of Law in Nicaragua”, carried out by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), determined that the concentration of power in the Nicaraguan Executive, led in the last 14 years by the Ortega-Murillo regime, has facilitated the imposition of a police state in Nicaragua, especially since the beginning of the sociopolitical crisis in April 2018.
For Commissioner Antonia Urrejola, president of the IACHR and rapporteur for Nicaragua, this police state that the Ortega regime maintains in the country can be dismantled, although she stressed that it would be a “long” process, which would require “in the first place” the realization of “Fair, transparent elections, with guarantees typical of democratic elections.”
In an interview with the program This week which airs this Sunday at 8:00 PM on Confidential Youtube and Facebook, The human rights defender explained that the study released on October 28 contains recommendations that, if executed, would precisely help dismantle the police state imposed by the Ortega Murillo regime.
Among the eight recommendations made by the IACHR to the State of Nicaragua, the call for the reestablishment of democratic institutions, full enforcement of the rule of law and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, stands out.
The Inter-American Commission has presented a new report on the concentration of power and the weakening of the rule of law in Nicaragua, which culminates in the annulment of the political rights to elect and be elected in these November 7 elections. What does the Commission propose to you? to the foreign ministers and the member states of the OAS, who are going to meet in November and will surely deliberate on this crisis in Nicaragua?
The report makes two very precise recommendations for the member states of the OAS and the international community: one, that they demand that the Nicaraguan government hold free, transparent and fair elections, which are from the recommendations made by the international community and On the other hand, he proposes that they demand that the Nicaraguan State put an immediate end to the repression and arbitrary detentions, as well as to the other human rights violations that have been taking place in the country, especially since the serious human rights crisis in 2018.
In March 2019, during the second national dialogue, the Ortega government even signed an agreement with the Civic Alliance, committing itself to reestablishing democratic freedoms; However, not only did it not comply with this agreement, but it also hardened the police state. How can a police state be dismantled when the regime itself is rather gripping and hardening it?
It is a very long process, but there are many actions that must be taken, especially in the Nicaraguan situation. The first is to restore the freedoms that have not existed for quite some time in Nicaragua; second, to build trust in the institutions. How is this done? well; Institutions and their members must be substantially modified, a new Judicial Power must be created, a new Public Ministry, and a professional police force must be generated, which is not politicized and does not respond to the government of the day, but has independence regardless of whether it is professional. Open justice and reparation processes and, above all, punish those responsible, because as long as there is impunity, a police state continues to act; generate democratic institutions, repeal the laws that have been approved in the last year. In general, all the recommendations that we make in this report tend precisely to dismantle this police state, but it is a long process that requires, first of all, fair and transparent elections, with guarantees typical of democratic elections.
What lessons has the Commission learned from this human rights situation in Nicaragua? Is there any progress on what you have raised in your recommendations or are we going backwards?
No, I think there is no progress. On the contrary, I believe that the concentration of power that we saw in 2018 is consolidated. The lack of independence of the different powers of the State has been consolidated and the institutional weakness of democratic institutions, typical of a rule of law, has been consolidated. Structural impunity has been consolidated and I believe that there is no progress. And, as lessons, the Commission first has its own lessons from the way it works. Now, in substantive terms, what lessons? The importance of pluralism, not just political pluralism, but social pluralism. The importance of a democratic society, the importance of the independence of the Judiciary, of checks and balances, but also to the defenders of the people, to the defenders of human rights, the role that the legislative powers must fulfill in a democracy, These are lessons that one already knows, but Nicaragua has somehow demonstrated the importance of checks and balances, of accountability, of access to information, especially in what we have seen in the pandemic. As a lesson, I also have to highlight the importance of civil society organizations and independent journalism. If the Commission has been able to do its job since it cannot visit Nicaragua, it has been thanks to the constant work of human rights defenders and also independent journalism, who have generated the information that has allowed us to do this monitoring.
You are now a candidate for a new term as commissioner in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. What is your main proposal if you are elected?
The first thing is to face the challenges that the pandemic has left us in the region; I believe that it has been brutal in terms of human rights and has not only affected the most vulnerable groups, but also the effects of the pandemic on issues of access to economic, social and structural rights. I think it is fundamental and it is the main challenge that we have to address, generating greater awareness. Also, in recent months we are seeing in the different countries of the region, not only in Nicaragua, the importance of checks and balances in a rule of law, for the guarantee of human rights. and the importance of judicial independence. Another area of work that the Commission must promote with greater force is the importance of judicial independence in a democracy, for the exercise of human rights and to continue working. It is a subject on which I am a rapporteur, on the subject of memory, truth and justice, because the region continues to face structural impunity, not only Nicaragua, but the region, and it seems to me that there is a line of work that must be continued.
When the Commission arrived in Nicaragua in May 2018, its fundamental work was first of all documenting the repression, meeting with the victims, and from there came its first report in which it made a series of recommendations to the State, How do you envision the future of Nicaragua? Today there is a state of total impunity. Is this demand for truth and justice on the country’s agenda, on the OAS agenda?
I do not see it on the country’s agenda in terms of the Government, the State. It is not an agenda, that is, we permanently denounce this structural impunity and I have indicated that I am impressed by the speed with which, for example, the Judicial Power acted in the arrest of more than 35 opposition figures. There he acted very efficiently, and he has not acted with any efficiency in the cases of the more than 328 deaths in the context of the protests. Now, I can’t say if it is on the OAS agenda, but it is on the agenda of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and on my own agenda, as rapporteur for Memory, Truth and Justice. If I am relegated, I will continue working on the issue of structural impunity, as a guarantee of non-repetition, and Nicaragua is a very important example. In addition, it is an issue that is on the agenda of civil society organizations. I want to rescue the work they have done, especially looking at a medium and long-term process, when democracy returns in Nicaragua, when there is a transitional justice process.
Is there hope for these demands for justice when the foundations of democracy have not been established?
I understand that sometimes you lose hope, but I think you always have to have it. Sometimes the processes take time, but they arrive, so it is important not only not to lose hope, but to continue working with the perspective that justice will arrive at some point. That is why the importance of testimonials, documentation and continuing to work.
